Page 19 of Fling

Then again, if everyone was talking about it, he didn’t want to be out of the loop. There was nothing immoral about looking something up. Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to search online to see what all the hype was about. He opened up his internet browser and typed in ‘FLING’.

The first result was a dictionary definition that read ‘a short period of enjoyment or wild behaviour (noun)’ but as soon as he clicked on the news tab, he saw exactly what Rory had been talking about. He was bombarded with results.

FLING. THE CHEATING APP TAKING THE COUNTRY BY STORM, one headline read.

OPINION: MEN CAN RESIST ANYTHING . . . EXCEPT TEMPTATION, another read, turning an Oscar Wilde quote into clickbait.

POLL: ARE YOU TEAM MARY OR TEAM JIM?

The list of results was seemingly endless. Everyone was talking about a woman named Mary who had apparently gone viral after throwing a fit on The Line. He kept scrolling until he found the most straightforward article headline.

EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT FLING BUT ARE TOO AFRAID TO ASK

Bingo.

Colin clicked the link and finally got the information he was looking for. He learned that the app was exclusively for unhappy married people seeking discreet extra-marital affairs. The app was all anonymous and Colin was intrigued by the reduced risk of getting caught.

Still, an affair wasn’t going to fix his unhappy marriage. It was a painkiller, not a cure. But then again, Tara had given up on searching for a cure to their problems. They both wanted children and had always planned to start a family together. That was the plan. The plan that Tara had just abandoned overnight because of some superstitious excuse about destiny.

What was he supposed to do with the rest of his life? He thought about the definition that had come up when he first googled the word ‘Fling’. A short period of enjoyment or wild behaviour. Didn’t everyone deserve that once in a while? Was he supposed to go another 210 days without sex? He felt like a lion who had been neutered and domesticated. Was he supposed to just accept that he would never roar again?

He took out his phone and searched Fling on the app store. There it was. Number one in the download charts.

Just a click away.

Colin took off his wedding ring and read the inscription on the inner band. ‘Always and Forever,’ it read, with Tara’s inscription reading ‘Forever and Always’.

His mind began to drift back to the night he proposed. Long before their time, there had been a trend for couples to meet before a date under the Clerys clock in the very centre of Dublin. Tara had always thought this to be an incredibly romantic notion and felt it was such a shame that the tradition had faded over time. And so they decided to keep the custom alive, but with their own unique twist.

Instead of Clerys, they always met for their dates under the Eason clock, directly across O’Connell Street. Tara liked to start their dates with a quick browse in the bookstore, although she often found herself buying more books than she actually had time to read. Finally, after countless dates and endless memories, Colin felt it fitting that he would propose to her where so many of their stories had begun. He had led her to the Eason clock, got down on one knee and asked her to start a new chapter with him. ‘It’s about time,’ she had laughed, with tears of joy in her eyes.

They had nothing but time back then. It was all ahead of them. Now, he feared his best days were all behind him. What he would give to be able to turn the hands of that Eason clock backwards and reclaim his youth from time, irredeemable. He would do anything to escape the prison of the present, even for a brief moment. It was a terrifying thing, to feel trapped in your own epilogue.

While Colin was still deep in existential thought, Rory barged into his office without knocking. ‘Col, let’s get some lunch. I need some hangover food.’

Colin was caught off guard and nervously started minimizing his open tabs from researching Fling.

‘Col . . .’ Rory said, suspiciously. ‘Why do you look like a teenager who’s just been caught watching porn?’

Rory rushed over to Colin’s desk before he could close everything. Seeing the articles on the screen, Rory knew exactly what was going on.

‘ “Everything you want to know about Fling but are too afraid to ask.” Oh my God, look who finally grew a pair of balls,’ Rory said, impressed.

‘It’s not what it looks like,’ Colin said, embarrassed.

‘You can’t lie to me, Collie boy. Come on, show me your matches.’

‘I don’t even have the app yet.’

‘Well download it! I want to see what all the fuss is about. And you obviously do too,’ Rory said, rearing to go. The excitement seemed to have cleared the fog of his hangover.

‘I can’t do it to Tara.’

‘Just because you look at the menu, doesn’t mean you have to order.’ Rory smirked.

For a brief moment, Rory’s logic seemed to make sense to Colin, a rare occurrence. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. But still, downloading the app would be a betrayal.

‘No, Rory, I’m not cheating on my wife,’ Colin said.

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